Breaking Boundaries | Jacob Black

Blood

"Jake, are you okay?"

Jacob stood at the edge of the cliff. The snow swirled around him as the wind roared in the distance, a silent warning of what was to happen in a few hours. Behind him was Bella, wrapped up in hordes of blankets and her teeth chattering on like no tomorrow.

They had set up their tent around eleven in the morning and were not waiting for Alice's signal to indicate the start of the War - their War - and the temperature had risen tenfold since early morning. Yet, it felt as though Bella's chattering teeth had merely increased the more time went by.

The forest smelled of trees and fresh conifer, something like mint that prickled at Jacob's nostrils every time he took a proper inhale. Any other time, the russet wolf would be relishing in the call of nature and the wonders of it all - if not for the reminder of a familiar face that kept on flashing through the back of his mind like a faded photograph.

Natalia hadn't bothered speaking to him since the Wolf's announcements about roles and their strategy. She wouldn't answer his calls, didn't come to the window despite him throwing rocks consistently for more than two hours until even her mother came out to see what was all the fuss. Jacob had had to apologize profusely before heading home with shoulders hunched and feelings like the biggest loser in the world. Well, he probably was at this point.

He'd fucked up bad. And despite the fact that the solution was as easy as a yes or no, Jacob didn't have the heart of turning the plan upaide down to put his mate's heart at ease.

"Are you sure?" Sam had asked him once more last night when he found Jacob lingering around Emily's house with an expression that resembled one of a kicked pup. He'd been daydreaming more lately, mind away and thinking of what Natalia might be doing at this particular moment.

His hands ached with the desire to touch her, to feel her close to him. It was like an itch under his skin, as if an allergy he couldn't get rid of until he could be at her side once more.

"You don't have to do this Jacob, you can say no. Nobody will blame you for it," Sam continued, oblivious to his internal battle, "actually, the boys volunteered to take over."

"I don't want anyone else to be away from the pack," Jacob had replied while keeping his gaze on the lingering darkness beyond, jaw clenched and fists at his side, "we need to be as powerful as we can be. it would just make more sense for me to be the one with Bella."

Sam let out a sigh, "alright, but try and talk to Talia, will you? I'm scared she might hate us till she dies if she continues like this."

The corner of Jacob's lip curled up, "yeah, sounds like something she would do."

A howl broke through the air and Jacob's ears perked up. Jared, calling out to let him know that the wolves were still safe and sound.

Jake, Paul spoke to him through the mind link, they won't be here till tomorrow morning. That fine with you?

You'll manage without killing off the bloodsucker? Jared joked.

I guess I can try, Jake answered wryly.

He missed them, as weird as it sounded. But more importantly, he missed Natalia. He wished he could've spoken to her before this war. Who knew what could happen in the meantime? But no matter how much he tried, Natalia didn't seem the least bit interested to know about what was going on. It was as though she had put up a wall of ice between them, unbroken and cold. Sharp.

She was the kind of girl that cut you off as soon as you did her wrong, Jacob saw that now. And he wanted nothing more than to get one more chance to explain everything to her, to explain to her that it was all a misunderstanding and that the one and only person he wished to keep for life was her.